Aldi and Marcus Rashford launch new campaign to help hungry families around the country

© Aldi Marcus Rashford has narrated an animation that personifies hunger through a child’s eyes as part of a new campaign with Aldi, aiming to help hungry families.

One in five children in the UK live in food poverty, a tragic reality that footballer and activist Marcus Rashford MBE has been working to change.

The Manchester United and England footballer, who experienced food poverty in his own childhood, has campaigned for the extension of free school meals to be provided in holidays and is now raising awareness of the inadequate meal boxes some families are receiving.

With the UK in shock at images of woeful free school meals food boxes, it’s clear that work urgently needs to be done to ensure children aren’t going without filling and nutritious daily meals. As part of this effort, supermarket Aldi has announced it is pledging to donate 10 million meals to feed hungry families across the country.

To mark this ambition, Aldi has collaborated with Marcus to release a short animation that personifies ‘hunger’ through a child’s eyes.

The poignant film explores a young child’s relationship with ‘hunger’ in a poem by Giles Andreae. Marcus narrates the emotional poem while celebrated illustrator Lisa Stickley brings the story to life through the accompanying animation.

Giles Hurley, Chief Executive Officer at Aldi UK and Ireland, said about the initiative: “At Aldi we’re making it our mission to fight against child food poverty as no child should ever go hungry. Not only are we pledging to donate 10 million meals throughout 2021 to families that need it, this campaign also aims to help raise awareness of the increasing number of families struggling to put food on the table.

“We were delighted for Marcus Rashford MBE to be the voice of the boy, which shows just what an important issue it is to us all.”

© Aldi Marcus Rashford Aldi campaign

Marcus Rashford MBE, said: “Reading the script for the Aldi animation I felt like I was talking about myself 10 years ago. This story is a reality for millions of children so, of course, I was happy to lend my voice. I’m proud to call Aldi a Founding Member of the Child Food Poverty Taskforce. Aldi has continued to take active steps to combat the issue of child food poverty and I would encourage everyone to get involved in their pledge to donate 10 million meals. 2021 is a time to level the playing field once-and-for-all.”

For more information and to donate, visit the Aldi website.

Like this article? Sign up to our newsletter to get more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox.

SIGN UP

In need of some positivity or not able to make it to the shops? Enjoy Good Housekeeping delivered directly to your door every month! Subscribe to Good Housekeeping magazine now.

SUBSCRIBE NOW